beside him on the log. “Hey, looks like we lost someone.”
“No way did they go off together.” Marco couldn’t help but laugh at the thought of Doug getting some action. “Even if she was insanely drunk last night it wasn’t going to happen.”
“Where’s Rowena?” Sonia asked as she sat up.
“That’s kind of the question of the hour.” Marco stood, extending his arms to his sides while leaning back for a good stretch, his chest cracking. He shook it out and then looked down at his shorts, his morning wood far from gone and thankfully unnoticed so far. “I’m heading down toward the water for a piss.” Marco downed the last of the beer and tossed it at the cooler.
Sonia waited until Marco was out of sight before unzipping her sleeping bag. “What the hell did you do with my shorts?” Sonia asked, sitting there in only her panties.
Stew smiled truthfully unaware he’d ever taken them off. He shrugged, aggravating her as she stood and walked the camp site in nothing more than her skivvies. Stew was more than happy to watch her walk around in her tiny panties while she searched, digging through this or that, finally emerging with another pair of shorts from her bag. Stew supposed they’d never discover the mystery of the missing shorts.
Marco had missed the search and would have kicked himself for it had he known. He knew Sonia was Stew’s flavor of the month and therefore respectfully stayed away, but a good show was a good show. So instead he’d followed a narrow trail through the trees for about two minutes until he came to a calm pond. The water looked as smooth as ice, covered in lily pads with yellow and white flowers on top. But Marco didn’t give a rat’s ass about the beauty of nature. He slid down his shorts and pissed into the pond, closing his eyes as the strong flow of beer and cola streamed out of his body, disturbing the pristine water. Marco heard footsteps behind him on the trail, the unmistakable sound of gravel crunching beneath someone’s shoes. He pinched off the last few drops with slight twinge of pain and pulled his pants back up.
“There you are.” Janice stepped off the path with a little wave. “What are you doing down here all by yourself?”
“Just enjoying the beauty of nature.” Marco smiled, holding out his hand to her.
Janice took his hand and wrapped his arm about her shoulders, smiling as she leaned into his body while looking down at the pond. She hadn’t known that he was capable of stepping out of his tough shoes to admire nature, to take a moment to look beyond the world to see past the pavement and buildings. Really, she thought he was only there to party and get laid. She closed her eyes and lost herself in the warmth of his body, getting past the slight smell of body odor and possibly urine. She could tell that he was something different.
“Doug!” Stew’s voice carried on the breeze. “Rowena!”
“Where do you think they went?”
“Probably back to the hot-pots. A nice early morning dip.” Marco thought that actually sounded pretty good. Especially when he added Janice in her bathing suit in the morning sun, now that really made it sound nice. “Maybe we should all go for a soak?”
Janice pulled out from beneath his arm, looking past him up the trail. “No, they went up to the hot-pots to look for them. So if they’re still calling their names, then Doug and Rowena weren’t there.” Janice looked nervous, her lip trembling. “I hope nothing bad has happened to them.”
“Oh come on, nothing like that.”
“Let’s go back. I want to look for them.”
“Stew and Sonia are already up there yelling, what more can we do?” Marco sighed as Janice pulled free and hurried up the path, leaving him to stand there alone. Marco watched her go, staying put for a moment. He kicked the ground with his foot like a spoiled little brat not getting his way and followed her up the trail.
“Any sign of them?” Janice asked as they
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